Yes, they are still posting losses but looking at the recurring vs. non-recurring items, things look pretty good for Wynn Las Vegas.

I listened to the conference call while sitting on the tarmac waiting to take off. Steve talked mostly about Macau. They said they will have three sites on Cotai that they will operate. He sounded really excited about China.

So, I go away for the weekend and don't take my computer along and guess what happens? Podcaster Steve Friess interviews Steve Wynn and their conversation ranges from the closing of 'Avenue Q' to the ultimate development of the Wynn Golf Course.

If you're interested, the best thing to do is to listen to the entire podcast. Still, some brief highlights:

Wynn estimates he will save between $75 and $85MM by using the 'Q' theater for 'Spamalot'. Also, the convention space that will be built for Encore will be able to connect directly to WLV's convention space, something impossible if the Grail Theater would have been built as planned.

'Avenue Q' was making money but not enough money to keep it in that spot. They looked for other, smaller spots but couldn't find something the right size.

Eventually the golf course will go and be split into several parcels. Up to two hotels and a giant lake will be built on parcels between the existing Fairway Villas and what is the half-way point through the course.

A 135ft tree lined 'Wynn Parkway' will eventually run through the parcel, connecting all of these various resorts.

According to this article, MGM MIRAGE may develop up to three sites in Macau. The first site, the MGM Grand Macau, is under construction now. Who knows, we may see a 'Mirage Macau' or 'Bellagio Macau'.

A Detroit News column discusses G2E's new "G2E Institute" which will hold its first conference May 9-11 at the new Red Rock Station. Casino design, Racino, Technology and Tribal will all be the focus at this workshop style conference.

Las Vegas Sands, operators of the Venetian in Las Vegas and the Sands in Macao, reported a 59% rise in profits for their fourth quarter in results released today. Details in the article below. The company is also building The Palazzo in Las Vegas and a version of their Venetian resort in Macau.

First off, the Sahara. In a LV Sun article, the guys running the joint made it clear that they aren't going anywhere right away. While the place could be bought, they want to sell the hotel and two adjoining parcels in one deal that would reach up to $700MM and so far no one is biting.

We've discussed the Golden Nugget's changes as they've been announced. Here's a good article in the Business Press discussing a few more of the details of their plans - they also drop the little gem that they've looked at potentially buying the Horseshoe. Interesting.

And finally, as you may have seen here, we launched a new site in our family, VegasLists.com. I'm happy to say that the first 24 hours has been a big success so far - traffic ramped up much more quickly than any site we've ever done before. If you haven't checked it out already, take a look now.

Update: I picked the questions and they are being sent to Wynn Resorts to be answered. I tried to pick questions that represented a range of topics. In some places I was able to combine questions and still retain what I believed was the questions true intent. Hopefully I maintained that for you guys. Anyway, as soon as we have a response, it will of course be posted on the blog as a new article.

We're starting a new semi-regular feature on the blog - an interview series. This series is different than other interviews for an important reason - you, the readers, submit the questions! It works like this: you add potential questions as comments on this story. In about a week, I will then pick the ten best/most interesting questions and send them to the interview subject. The responses will be printed in a follow-up story. Feel free to submit more than once but please make sure one comment = one question.

I've started to line up some interesting gaming industry heavyweights to participate. I'm personally very excited about the person we're kicking off with. DeRuyter Butler has been involved in designing some of the Strip's most iconic casinos. Working with Steve Wynn since 1982 he was involved with projects at the Golden Nugget, The Mirage and Treasure Island and was the primary design architect for Beau Rivage, Bellagio and Wynn Las Vegas. Recently, Mr. Butler has been overseeing the finalization of Wynn Macau and the development of Encore, Wynn Las Vegas' sister resort. Butler's creations are one of the major inspirations that inspired this site in the first place, we are honored to have him. Please submit your questions, one per comment, below.

After a whirlwind development period, we're happy to be launching a new site, VegasLists.com, in a beta form.

The site makes it easy for users to create lists of anything Las Vegas related. Examples include 'Best Hotels For Under $50' or 'Most Annoying Thing in Vegas'. Users can comment on existing lists and create their own. Signing up takes just 1 second and you'll be making lists in no time. We hope that this will become an interesting place for Las Vegas lovers to share their collective knowledge with everyone!

Blog Side Note: You may notice the Wynn Las Vegas ad in the upper right. We're now official affiliates for WLV (as we are for MGM MIRAGE properties). What that means is that if you book through that link, you are booking directly with Wynn but we get a small percentage of the total, which we use to keep the site running. So, if you're booking online with Wynn, please use our link - it won't cost you any more than the normal site and it helps us out!

The Las Vegas Sun reports that Las Vegas is not included on the list of American cities most likely to be targeted by terrorists. I believe the Administration and Homeland Security have made a major error.

I'm still not convinced airliners have been made totally safe from terrorist hijackers. What other city has the major airport surrounded by so many mega-hotels?

If the air space is secure, what about conventional truck bombs or chemical? The front entrances to many Strip properties aren't secure from a Timothy McVeigh type attack. One attack on Las Vegas would, in addition to the thousands of immediate casualties, shut down tourism across the country with its associated effect on the entire economy while people wonder whether Orlando or some other destination is next.

It's ludicrous that the 40 million tourists each year weren't factored into the equation rather than using census data of permanent population. Politics as usual!

Golden Nugget's website has a list of improvements and additions planned for the property. Since Landry's Restaurants purchased GN, it's not surprising to see some of their Houston signature restaurants opening. Other changes include an expanded showroom, renovated casino floor, new pool area, nightclub and a third hotel tower. The site shows drawings of the changes. After entering the site, go to the lower right corner of the screen and "Click Here for Construction Updates."Golden Nugget Website

Hail2skins alerted us to a detailed review of Wynn Las Vegas which was posted by "Pisces". I happen to disagree with much of what he or she wrote, but it would be interesting to have a discussion on the points raised in the review.
Here's the link:Detailed Wynn Review

This story's been making the rounds for the last couple of days - a hotel with a Rolling Stone theme... What is that theme exactly? Suck? Rolling Stone hasn't had much cultural significance for a long time, maybe since the Dr. Thompson days.

The Las Vegas Sun reports that MGM's CityCenter is adding more than 1,100 hotel rooms and condos to the CityCenter project on the Strip between Bellagio and Monte Carlo. The changes will add $1 Billion to the development. Estimated cost of CityCenter is now $6 Billion, up from the original estimate of $4 Biillion which was subsequently raised to $5 Billion.

I received a review copy of a new Las Vegas photo book by German photographer Andreas Schmidt. I see a lot of these types of books and most have nice photos but are very cookie cutter. This book is different - click the link to read more to find out about this book.

BTW: These guys look like they might have stolen another one of my design ideas, a water feature on the roof or coming down off the roof... First that stupid NBC show, now a real casino... This stuff has been in my sketchbook for years. I digress.